News / biotech
Bristol startup turns urine from festivals into fertiliser to grow new forest
A Bristol-based startup has turned an unlikely ingredient into a tool for reforestation – urine collected from music festivals and marathons.
NPK Recovery has developed a way to transform waste from events such as Boomtown Festival and the London Marathon into an odourless, nutrient-rich fertiliser.
It is estimated that the biotech firm produced nearly 550 litres of fertiliser using urine collected from the 2025 edition of the festival.
Now, for the first time, the nitrogen-rich product is being used to grow trees for a new forest.
During the London Marathon 2025, NPK Recovery teamed up with another Bristol-founded female startup Peequal to convert urine collected from innovative female-friendly toilets into fertliser – photo: Peequal
Backed by more than £435,000 from the Forestry Commission, the three-year project will see 4,500 native trees, including beech and Scots pine, planted in Brecon Beacons.
The development comes as fertiliser prices have soared amid war in Iran and the resulting blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.
NPK Recovery says its recycled alternative is as effective as conventional fertilisers, which are often produced using energy-intensive processes.
NPK Recovery has developed a way to transform urine from events such as Boomtown Festival and the London Marathon into an odourless, nutrient-rich fertiliser – photo: NPK Recovery
The initiative is being delivered in partnership with Stump Up for Trees, which works to boost tree cover and biodiversity in the national park.
Co-founder Lucy Bell-Reeves described the approach as a “circular solution” to both waste and environmental challenges.
“We need to stop flushing crop and tree-growing nutrients down the loo and start using them to increase our fertiliser security,” Bell-Reeves said.
“We need to stop flushing crop and tree-growing nutrients down the loo and start using them to increase our fertiliser security,” said co-founder Lucy Bell-Reeves – photo: NPK Recovery
“By the end of this project, revellers and runners could have helped create a fledgling Welsh forest.”
NPK Recovery processes waste on-site using mobile laboratories, capturing nutrients such as nitrogen and converting them into fertiliser, reducing pressure on sewage systems while cutting chemical use.
The female-led startup partnered with Peequal, another female-founded Bristol firm, at the London Marathon 2025 to collect urine from the latter’s female-friendly squat toilets to convert it into fertiliser for crops.
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NPK Recovery, which is based at UWE Bristol’s enterprise and innovation hub Future Space, was founded by Hannah Van Den Bergh with the aim of producing sustainable fertiliser from urine to help address some of the problems faced by farmers, including rising costs and low yields from synthetic fertilisers.
The female-led startup produces sustainable fertiliser from urine to help address some of the problems faced by farmers, including rising costs and low yields from synthetic fertilisers – photo: NPK Recovery
If successful, it could offer a scalable, low-cost solution to support sustainable forestry and agriculture across the UK.
Main photo: NPK Recovery
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